Process of and apparatus for spinning yarns



y 1934. E. J. ABBOTT ,960,403

PROCESS or AND APPARATUS FOR sP1NNING"YARNs Original Filed June 10. 1930 3 Sheets- Sheet l lrw iuioi- W07 i; Q]:

y 23 a M 71% y 34- E. J. ABBOTT 1,960,403

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR SPINNING YARNS Original Filed June 10, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Worrwyy May 29,1934. 5 J. ABBOTT 1,960,403

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR SPINNING YARNS Original Filed June 10, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 nw nzzr Mw'mzi (I 15,6055 I a um Patented May 29, 1934 PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR SPINNING YARNS Edward J. Abbott, Wilton, N. H., assignor to Abbott Machine Company, Wilton, N. H., a corporation of New Hampshire Application June 10,'1930,'Serial No. 460,130 Renewed July 12, 1933 4 Claims. (Cl. 118-11) This invention pertains to ring spinning apparatus 'of that kind in which the spindles are carried by a fixed support while the ring rail moves up and down relatively to the spindles, and re- 5 lates more particularly to a novel construction making it possible and practicable to spin yarn, for example worsted, at spindle speeds exceeding 7500 R. P. M. and with fifteen or more twists per linear inch, and to wind the'yarn as spun to form packages (bobbins) more-than six inches long and two inches in diameter, and containing four or more ounces of yarn, with much less breakage and stopping of the spindles for piecing up than is common with usual constructions operating at lower speeds and building packages of much smaller size. In attaining these desirable results I employ stationary divider plates interposed between the spindles and extending from near the level of the yarn delivery eyes or guides substantially to the plane .of the lower ends of the spindles, and advantageously make use of certain novel relations between the spindle, the guide eye and the ring, which ensure uniform dragupon the yarn throughout the winding operation, thus permitting the spinning and winding to be carried out at very high speeds. These novel features of invention are more particularly pointed out hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I have illustrated certain desirale embodiments of the invention by way of example, and inthe drawmgs,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of so much of a spinning frame as is necessary to illus-' trate the application of the present invention thereto; 7 a l Fig. 2 is a vertical section substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the parts at the beginning of the winding operation; I

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the parts as positioned near the end of the winding operation; I

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section, substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 1, omitting certain parts;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, omitting certain parts;

Fig. 6 is a plan view' of'a desirable form, of

thread guide board;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation to larger scale,-.illustrating a bracket for supporting the ring rail;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating a modified construction for supporting the ring; Fig. 9 is a horizontal section similartoFig.

4 but illustrating the arrangement of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 .is a transverse section to larger scale, through one of the rings.

Commonly the worsted yarn package produced by ring sp.nning takes the form of a long thin bobbin (about 4 long, and approximately 1 in outside diameter) holding about 1 ounces of yarn, and cotton spinning has sufiered comparable restrictions. Ring spinning was originally on filling bobbins which went directly into the loom, and it was a later development to use separate frames for spinning warp yarns. "The typical cotton warp wound package was developed for making on ring frames for cotton, whereas on worsted the double-headedspool type of bobbin was used for warp yarns. Later, on this latter bobbin a fillet or cone was used under the top head and usually a metal ring on the top head to enable yarn to be taken from these spools overend. In an effort to put more yarn on a bobbin, spinners have tended to make the bobbin longer in order to use the usual sizes of rings and to avoid making the distance greater between the spindles. Large rings are customary only for twisting or very coarse spinning, and the size of the ring limits the bobbin diameter.

If the length of balloon is increased to get a longer bobbin there is a tendency for the balloon to break and form two small balloons, the reason for this being that the balloon is not in the vertical radial plane of the spindle, but is a spiral, the pitch of which depends on the air resistance to the thread and its comparative weight and consequent centrifugal force. When this spiral has more than one-half turn between the traveller and the axial guide or pot-eye, it collapses into a double balloon having a node in the middle. If this happens while spinning the collapse often occurs near the top head of the bobbin and the yarn wraps around the bobbin and either breaks, or spins a bunch of loose kinky yarn around the top head. Increasing the drag either by a larger ring, heavier traveller or higher spindle speed will straighten out the balloon and tend to prevent this. This increase of drag, however, is not desirable because the'yarn is exposed to excessive breakage as the result. of the relation of traveller inertia-and friction to spindle speed.

Inv accordance with the present invention, the

length-of the balloon and the weight of the traveller are decreased as much as possible, so that double ballooning is avoided andinertia and friction of the traveller itself ofiers but little resistance to the movement of the yarn, and I-then depend upon variation of the resistance of the free run of yarn,which balloons between the axially disposed guide eye and the traveller to secure the necessary drag for winding the yarn on the spindle. The function of the traveller thus becomes more nearly that of a guide to determine the direction of the run of yarnleading tangentially to the winding surface of the bobbin, and less that of an inertia or friction drag.

, Shortening the balloon decreases the air resistance and the drag so that it is then permissible to increase the diameter of the ring (and hence of the bobbin), which makes a larger balloon and brings the drag back to normal. One way of shortening the balloon is by raising the whole spindle and bobbin relative to the guide eye. Ordinarily, with conventional sizes of rings, it would result that the balloon would be very short when the ring is at the top of its traverse and relatively long when at the bottom which would cause so great a difference in the drag that the yarn would break at the bottom and yet kink at the top. But by using relatively large rings together with relatively high spindle speeds such as the preferred speed of 7500 r. p. m. or higher, the angle of the yarn running from the guide to the traveller becomes of importance as a factor of equalization of stresses. At the bottom of the stroke the balloon leans away from the center line of the spindle, whereas at the top the ballooning yarn runs at an acute angle to the spindle and to the plane of rotation of the traveller and hence causes a harder drag, which drag is almost enough wholly to compensate for the lessened drag due to lessened air resistance. The compensation for change in the ballooning yarn length may be further increased by making the barrel of the bobbin smaller toward the top head to increase the drag, which is not initself a new expedient. The combined result of shortening the balloon by raising the spinning package to bring. its upper full thickness-winding close to the guide eye and increasing the ring diameter is to secure almost uniform drag from top to bottom of the winding traverse stroke with a given diam eter of wound yarn on'the bobbin. With a light traveller, I therefore preferably employ a ring of as large diameter as the dimensions of the frame will permit. In order so far as possible to reduce friction of the traveller on the ring, I provide this large ring'with a very narrow flange.

At the very high speeds which I recommend and employ, the yarn tends to balloon widely, having regard to the length of the free run from the pot-eye to the traveller, and to shield adjacent balloons from each other I provide smoothly polished separator plates at opposite sides of the spindle, the plates beingso arranged as to allow the ring rail torise nearly to the level of the delivery guide eye. These plates are preferably parallel to each other and to the axis of the spindle and extend continuously from the lowermost position of the ring rail substantially to the level of the yarn delivery guide eye, that is to say,

to the front delivery rolls of the frame than would be possible were the separator plates allowed to rise and fall with the rail. In accordance with one desirable arrangement, I provide the ring rail with slots for the reception of the stationary separator plates, but in a modified construction, desirable under some circumstances, the ring rail proper is placed to the rear of the spindles and the rings are independently mounted by means of brackets projecting forwardly from the ring rail, the rings being slightly spaced to accommodate separator plates. These constructions avoid extending the separator plates above the plane of the guide eyes, and avoid spacing the usual drawing and delivery rolls at too great distances from the guide eyes, which defects contribute to irregular spinning.

Referring to the drawings for a more specific disclosure, the apparatus comprises the usual spindle rail 1 supporting bolsters 2 for a series of spindles 3 each provided with the usual whirl 4 for the reception of a driving belt or band, C. A ring rail 6 is arranged to be reciprocated axially of the spindles by means of a builder motion of any usual type indicated generally at 5, and the spindles 3 are adapied to receive bobbins '7 or other suitable form of support upon which the yarn mass is to be wound. The machine also comprises the front delivery rolls 8 and 9 from which the filament R is delivered to the spindle to be wound thereon. In thus employing the term filament I do not mean to limit myself to a s rand which has previously been twisted or spun, but on the contrary I use this term in a generic sense as conveniently denoting any strand spun or unspun, which is to be twisted and wound upon a bobbin.

The machine comprises a longitudinal rail 10 forming a support for parts to which a thread guide board 11 is hinged. This thread guide board, as indicated in Fig. 5, preferably extends longitudinally across a plurality of spindles and is provided with a guide opening or pot-eye 12 normally disposed above the axis of each spindle. These guide or pot-eyes may if desired be lined with porcelain or other wear-resistant material in usual fashion. Preferably the forward edge 13 of the guide board is smoothly rounded to avoid chafing or abrasion of the yarn and from this edge a threading slot 15, preferably oblique to the edge, extends inwardly to each pot-eye 12. With this arrangement, when piecing up broken ends, it is not necessary for the operator first to thread the end through the pot-eye or even to place the filament within the threading slot 15, since as soon as the pieced-up filament is allowed to drag against the forward edge of the thread board, it follows along such edge under the tension to which it is subjected and finds its way into the threading slot and thence into the poteye without further attention on the part of the operator.

As indicated in Fig. 4, the ring rail 6 carries a series of rings 16 each concentric with one of the spindles, each ring having a flange 17 forming a track or guideway for a traveller 18. In order to reduce friction as much aspossible, the flanges 17 are made unusually narrow, and in accordance with the present invention the travellers are made as light and thin as possible so that the weight of the traveller will exert but little drag on the yarn, the principal function of the traveller being to guide the filament at angles corresponding to the relative position of ring, guide eye, and bobbin surface onto the building wound mass.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the ring rail 6 is provided with an elongate slot 19 intermediate each pair of rings, such slots preferably extending at right angles to a line uniting the axes of the spindle. In each slot 19 I dispose a divider plate 20, such plates being fixedly secured, as for example on lugs or brackets 21, (Fig. 1) to a convenient fixed part of the frame, for example to a part carried by the rail 10.

These divider plates may be plane, preferably continuous and uninterrupted, extend substantially parallel to each other and to the axes of the spindles, and have polished faces, and may be equidistant from the spindle. Each divider plate extends from a point 22 (Fig. 2) substantially at the level of the delivery eye 12 to a point 23 (Fig. 3) which is at least as low as the lowermost point in the path of travel of the ring rail 6. As thus arranged the divider plates 20 are adapted. to confine the ballooning yarn extending from the delivery eye 12 to the traveller 18, the same separator plate being adapted toseparate the largest and longest balloons of adjacent rings, and also to prevent a broken yarn from whipping out laterally above the level of the spindle tops,=.as-

would otherwise happen in the event of breakage occurring in the position of Fig. 3.

between adjacent spindles, and since, in the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the existing ringrail lifter rods 24 of many types of spinning frames, which transmit movement from the builder motion to the ring rail 6, must pass upwardly in the plane of the spindle axes and between adjacent spindles, the rail 6 may be supported by a bracket 25 (Figs. 5 and 7) here shown asintegral with the rod 24, such bracket being bifurcated to provide a slot 26 which registers with one of the slots 19 in the rail. The bracket 25 is provided with a widened. upper portion having ears 2'7 and 28 (Fig. 5) adapted to engage the front and rear edges of the ring rail 6 thereby properly to support the latter, and as thus arranged the slot 26 in the bracket receives the lower portion of the corresponding divider plate as the ring rail rises.

In the modified arrangement illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, spindle rail 1, the thread guide board 11 and the divider plate 20, and other usual adjuncts are similar to corresponding parts already described, but in this instance each ring 16 is individually secured by means of a bracket 29 to a ring rail 6 the latter being disposed to the rear of the spindle rail 1, and being secured in any desired manner to the upper end of the supporting rod 24 which receives movement from the builder motion. As thus arranged, the rings 16 are spaced apart sufiicient to admit the divider plates 20 between them, it being understood that in this instance, as in the arrangement previously described, the divider plates are fixed and immovable and that the rings move up and down relatively to the fixed plates.

With the arrangements described, which are in aid of accommodating larger rings with the prior art lateral spacing of spindle centers, the machine parts are operated as usual, but by reason of the kno' Since the divider plates aredisposed midway when winding at the lower and middle parts of the ring rail traverse, the air-resistance of the ballooning run of the filament is a sufficient drag.

But this resistance would not be sufiicient, having in mind the changed dimensions, especially the distance from the guide eye to thegtopof the bobbin and the extreme upper position of the ring, if the described relation of the parts did not contribute an increasing drag during travel of the ring toward its extreme upper position.- This increasing drag is due to the increasing acuity of the vertical angle of the filament at the traveller, which exerts a larger centripetal force on the traveller; this in turn is due to the near approach of .the large ring to the axiallyplaced guide eye. The. angular magnitude of the circular path ofthe traveller as measured from the guide eye decreases as arr-exponential function of the distance from' the guide eye of the ring and path of the traveller. 1 v

In cases where this increasing drag is not alone sufiicient to compensate "for" the lessened air resistance of .the shortened balloon, the effect may be increased by employing bobbins, as shown, whose diametrical dimensionat the top of the barrel is less than at the bottom. As well n Y essened diameter of the winding surface increases the drag at the traveller. This has to do with alteration in the acuity of the horizontal angle between the ballooning run and the tangential run from the traveller to the winding surface of the filament.

It will be observed that by the described expedients I have provided for increasing traveller drag toward the top of the traverse as a consequence of increasing the vertical angle between the axis of the guide eye and any point on the ring; and that when reduced-diameter bobbins are in use, this efiect is augmented by a concomitant decrease of the horizontal angle between the tangential run of filament from traveller to winding mass and the radial plane of the traveller at any position. I

The conditions for the operation are well satisfled when the normal diameter of the lower part of the bobbin is of the order of one-half the diameter of the traveller path, and when the vertical angle of the traveller path to guide eye at the top of the traverse exceeds 90; i. e. 45? from the axis at any position of the traveller. The efiect relied upon may however be realized in useful degree when this angle is substantially less, for example when a 2 ring is made to approach the guide eye to within from three to four inches.

This invention is useful whatever kind of wind, resulting from variations of traverse of the rings, is to be applied to the bobbins. The advantageous increase in quantity on a bobbin is best exemplified when the product is intended for use on a creel to supply yarn for warps, or as a sourceof supply for automatic rewinding. For any textile. use, increase of,unbroken length of yarn in the,

lower end oi the path of travel of the ring rail up to the yarn delivery eye. These plates thus serve in a highly efficient manner to perform their usual omce of separating the filaments winding on adjacent spindles, thereby to prevent kinking, breakage, and the other faults of operation adverted to above.

While I have shown desirable embodiments of the invention by way of example, I wish it to be 340 tion .of winding as these plates extend from the understood that various changes in size and arrangement of parts and the substitution of equivalents for the elements here shown may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

It will be apparent from this specification that if the stroke of the traverse were lengthened too much, thus unduly increasing the ratio between length of package and diameter of ring, the tendency would be to prevent the desired'equalization of tension. The proportions of these parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings are however quite satisfactory in conjunction with the other recommended factors herein described.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the class described comprising in combination with a, plurality of rotating spindles, and means for turning them, a ring concentric with each spindle, a traveller on each ring, a ring rail supporting the ring, said rail having a slot therethrough separating each ring and the next adjacent ring, a support for the ring rail, said support having a slot registering with one of the slots in the rail, a fixed divider plate disposed in each slot in the rail, and means for reciprocating the ring rail support.

2. Process of forming single yarn by ringspinning comprising rotating a yarn-receiving bobbin at a high speed of the order of about 7500 revolutions per minute or higher, establishing a spinning filament balloon defined by a traveler on a ring of at least-approximately 2 inches diameter, traversing the lower end cf the balloon with respect to the yarn-receiving bobbin to within approximately 2 inches from the apex of the balloon while placing a full-thickness winding on the bobbin at said location, the length of the package wound on the bobbin being limited to such length that at the upper end of the bobbin the reduced air resistance due to shortness of the spinning filament at said location is largely offset by increase in friction between filament and traveler.

3. Process of forming single yarn by ringspinning comprising rotating a yarn-receiving bobbin at a high speed of the order of about 7500 revolutions per minute or higher within a traveler ring of at least approximately 2 inches diameter, and winding a substantially cylindrical full-thickness winding on the bobbin of approximately 6 inches in length and with-its top portion within approximately 2 inches from the apex of the filament balloon.

4. Ring spinning apparatus for forming single yarn comprising a rotating yarn-receiving bobbin and means rotating the bobbin at high speed of the order of about 7500 revolutions per minute or higher, a filament guide above the bobbin, a traversing ring rail, ring and traveler, said ring having a diameter of at least approximately 2 100 inches, the bobbin having its upper end near said guide and the traverse of the ring rail being such as to distribute a substantially full-thickness winding on the bobbin at substantially one ring diameter from said guide and over a 105 length of bobbin such that the yarn tension is approximately the same when winding single yarn at the top and bottom of the winding package.

EDWARD J. ABBOTT. 

